Method of assembling retainers



Sept. 28, 1943. H.- L. POTTER 2,350, 1 .41

' I METHOD OF ASSEMBLiNG RETAINERS 'Filed Aug. 9, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR HOWZl L P0775? ATTORNEYS p 1943- 'H. POTTER 2,330,741

METHOI 'J. 0F ASSEMBLING RETAINERS filed Aug. 9, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 2' ATTORNEYS Patented Sept. 28, 1943 2,330,741] METHOD OF ASSEMBLINGRETAINERS nownLfi Potter, New Britaim'bonn assignor to p v The Fafnir Bearing Company, New Britain,

Conm, a. corporation of Connecticut l y Application August 9, 1941,- S erialNot:406,1l9

v M fjl4o'1aims; My invention relates to a method .of assem bling a ball retainer with balls, particularly: in

. which reasonablyfree access cannot always be a double -rowball bearing, .ora bearing where there is not free access to opposite sides. of the retainer. I l

Ballretainers, such as. cast bronze retainers, have heretofore commonly been assembled in backto backrelationship with a double row ball bearing,that is to say, with deformable ball embracing fingers at the outsides of the bearings, in-which position such fingers may be readily deformedinto ball embracing position. With such retainers it is necessary tospace the rows of balls far enough apart to provide sufiicient space for the back to back retainers. l Furthermore, considerable lubricant space is thus consumed and-except when the ball'rows arewidely spaced, the retainersection is-likely to bere-' duced to an undesirably low limit. Furthermore; with deep angular contact raceways, the ring section of the retainers, when assembled backto back,-must be substantially reduced in a radial direction. In those cast bronze retainers which ha'vebeen assembled with double row bearings with'the deformable fingers extending inwardly (thatisflopposite to the back to back relationship) theretainer ringsection at the outer sides ofthe bearings has been substantially reduced 7 or cut away.

- It is'a general object of my invention, therefore, to provide an improved method of as" sembling ball retainers'in a double row. ball hearing, wherein the deformable fingers face inwardly. 1

It'is another object to provide an improved method of assembling ball retainers in a double rowball bearing, wherein the retainer fingers project inwardly, all without the necessityof substantially weakening the retainer section'at any point.

Another object is to provide an improved method of assembling retainers which substantially fill the space'between the face of the inner ring and the outer race, and which have deformable fingers projecting inwardly or toward each other. r I

Other objects and various'features of novelty and invention will be hereinafter pointed out or will become apparent to those skilled in the art. l

While the invention will be described in connection with a double row ball bearing, it is to be understood. that in its broader aspectsfithe invention is of utility in connection with bear ings other than double row bearings, but in had to opposite sides of the bearing.

In-the drawings which show, for illustrative purposes only, a novel and preferred form of apparatus for carrying out my improved method-- I i Fig. ,1 is a fragmentary front view in elevation of'a machine forperforming the method, parts being broken away to illustrate interior features; i

.;Fig. 2 isa horizontal sectional view taken substantially in the plane of the line ,2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3' is; a fragmentary: horizontal sectional viewpthrough the bearing shown in Fig. 1, the sectionbeing taken just above the lower retainer and parts being in'position before deformation of the retainer fingers;

Figaeflis a generally vertical sectional view through parts shown in Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 3, but illustrating parts in position after deformation of some of the bendable retainer fingers;

Fig. Sisa generally vertical sectional view through parts'shown in Fig. 5;

Fig. .7 is-aview similar to Fig. 5, but illustrating the parts in position after deforming the remaining bendable fingers;

Fig. 8, is a view similar to Fig. 6 but illustrates the parts in positions assumed in Fig. 7.

L 'The double row. bearing illustrated includes an innersringfi and an outer ring 6, each of which. is provided with two spaced raceways for receivingtwo separate rows of balls l--|, 88,

I l-45 projectbeyond the ball pock'ets and are of such size that they may be deformed into ball embracing position relatively to the balls held in the pockets. Such bronze retainers are often cast and are finished in satisfactory fashion merely by'being die struck with slightly oversize balls. 'Theretainers as appear particularly in Fig. 2 are of such ring, section or radial extent as to substantiallyfill the radial spacejbetween.

the inner and outer rings, and the fingers l2--I3,

i l-I5 project inwardly or toward each other into the general zone between the two rows of balls. The retainers, after the fingers have been deformed into ball embracing positions, are designed to ride the balls and are preferably free of contact with either the inner or the outer ring. The retainer section is quite substantial at the outer sides of the double row ball bearing where the ball load isheaviest. With double row ball bearings, wherein the balls have quite substantial angular contact with the inner and outer rings, the retainers ride the balls in the general zone of their polar axes where the..rotation is,..of L

' positioned in the index hole or slot l9 and when course, the least, and consequently retaineriwear is reduced to a minimum.

My invention relates particularly to-anj-im-g,

proved method of deforming the bendable fingers which face toward each other in the generally 1 central zone of the, bearing andvare consequent-1y normally quite inaccessible for deformation. I have provided meanswhich project into the bearing, preferably from opposite sides, for wedging or otherwise deforming the bendable fingers into ballembracing positions. Such deforming means in the preferred form pass through holes extending through at least one of the retainers between each pair of deformablefingers, such as the fingers I4'I5, and means may extend through the other retainer in similar manner, or, when-one of the retainers is assembled with its row of balls and the fingers deformed by conventional methods a singleanvil or wedging means may'extend through a retainer, for example the upper retainer, to assist in deforming the fingers of the lower retainer. 7 However, inthe preferred form, the retainers have holes for thedeforming means" so that all of the corresponding fingers of one retainer may be deformed atrone operation.-

'In the form of apparatus shown, I provide a rotatable or indexiblebasemember I 6, which may be rotated orindexed by a handle I'Land which may be held in indexed position as by-means of a spring pressedindex pin. 18 .engageable .in :an index hole or slot H! or .a second index hole or slot, 20. ,The basememberslfi.rcarries anvil or Wedging means, whichmeansmay be in the form of pins 2| projecting fromga supporting plate 22 carried by the base member 16. The plate-22 may support the lower retainer. 10 and is preferably of a size to freelyfit between theiinner and outer rings. ,The. retainer 10 is preferably provided with holes, 23, which extend-axially through the retainer and between thebendable prongs ror fingers l4-I5. These anvils, supports,.tools,.or wedging pins 2| are preferably tapered orwedgeshaped at the top, a indicated .at 21, and preferably extend about as far inwardlyasdoithe bendable fingers |4 -i 5. The base member [6, together with pin members -2 I, correspond ingeneral to a die on a press platen. What corresponds to a punch member may be provided for cooperating with the die portion forbending the fingers 14-45. In the form illustrated,,I employ a punch head 24' which may be ,guided in any suitable manner, and which may beactuated as by means of a treadle or the like. .The head 24 preferably carries a pluralityof wedging means or tools in the form of pins 25 'havingthe .same circumferential spacing as the corresponding lower pins 2!. In a double row bearing. with duplicate retainers, the upper retainer '9 isjprovided with h-oles or bores 26 .for the passage of the wedging .pins 25. The retainer holes 23 and 26 are advantageously of 'a size to moreor less snugly receive the corresponding wedging pins so q'theibase member is so held in indexed position the desired predetermined relative angular positions :of the pins 2l25 will be substantially as "shownin Fig.4. 'It will, of course, be understood that ordinarily the axial holes in the two retainers will not line up so as to receive the oppositely disposed wedging pins, and therefore the base" member 5 is first rotated so as to permit entry. of th .upper pins .25 in the holes '26 in thexupper. retainer. Thereafter, the base member is rotated until the :indexpin I8 may be inserted in, say, the index. hole 1.9. During this relative rotation of the two retainers, one or both'rows of balls will .be skidded relatively one or both of the rings. When the pins .2-l-.25.are properly positioned, for; example as shown in-Fig. 4,. the punch .head. .24. :i ...10Wered and the-pins 25"will wedge between the .anvil' pins .21 (supporteddaterallysin the. bores. '2.3") and. thefingers l=4tand will deformall of the. fingers'icorresponding. to the finger-=14: and willycml the same about .the balls .into :ballembracing positions. -A1-, the end of the finger deforming operation, the parts will be substantially as shown in Figs. 5 and- 6. In other. words, the retainer will have rotated relatively, to;each* other a slight amount. It' is for that reason thatjthe index slots. |.920 are elongated; to permitvthis slight relative .rotationbetween the retainers during the deforming operation. ;Generally speaking, the fingers 'willbe deformed ,into actual forcible contact with the balls and when the deforming pressure is released, the slight-resiliency of the deformedfingers will cause them tospring back very. slightly ,so as'to ,just clear the ball surfaces and thus provide a .snug butperfectly free running fit. When all of the fingers corresponding to the finger I 4 have been deformed as described, the punch. head ;-24 is raisedso a to causethe wedgingpin 25 to clear the pins 2| and the remainingrfingers. The base member I6 is then indexed vso as to cause the upper pins 25 to align with the opposite sides of the pins 2| (Figs. 7, 8), and whenthe punch headis operated the fingers 15 will be, deformed asheretofore described. While theangularmovement to reposition the rpins from more or less the 'positionof Fig. 1 :to that of,-say, Fig. .8 is slight, it will be usually more convenient,-so .far as indexing is concerned, to shift the base .memher 16 anangular distance of one whole ba1l=-assembly and cause the index pin 18 to engage an index slot 20. Thus, two widely separated Slots will be employed and there is little likelihood that an operator will fail to deform bothof the opposed fingers, whereas ifasingle indexing slot were employed and the base member 16 were shifted only a very small amount, there :is some likelihood that the operator through'carelessness or forgetfulness would .deform only .one setof fingers. 7

'When one retainer, such as theretainer Ill, has hadall of the fingers-deformedinto'ballembracing positions, the head .24may he raised, the

lower pins 2| with the hole in the retainer 9, and the same procedure followed for deforming the fingers correspondingto the fingers l2-l3 of theretainer 9.

A preferred form of procedure has been described. 01. course many modifications and variations may be made; for example, one row of balls could be loaded and the retainer placed in position and the fingers deformed by conventional wedging means before the other retainer is assembled or even before the balls and the other row are put in place, so that my improved method would be employed only for deforming the fingers of the last retainer put in place. Again, it would be possible to deform the fingers one at a time rather than as described. Furthermore, in the broader aspects of the invention, a, split resilient wedging pin, or a wedging pin having hinged wings, might be employed for simultaneously deforming both ofthe adjacent fingers I l-l5. Many other modifications and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

My improved method is rapid and effective. The resulting structure is a superior one in that the retainers practically fill the spaces between the inner and outer rings and the solid retainer section is at the outside where the ball load is heaviest. The retainers are not substantially weakened by the relatively small holes required for passage of the wedging pins. The retainers ride the balls in the general zones of their polar axes where the rotation is the least. By having the solid retainer plates at the outsides of the bearing and only the deformable fingers at the insides, the ball rows may be quite closely spaced, and, furthermore, a very substantial lubricant space is provided on the interior of the bearing where it is most advantageous.

While the invention has been described in considerable detail and a' preferred method and preferred apparatus disclosed, it is to be understood that various changes and modificationsmay be made within the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. The method of assembling a ball retainer with one row of balls of a double row hearing which has a retainer for each row of balls, and wherein the ball retainers have deformable ball embracing fingers located in the zone between the two retainers, which method comprises, inserting a tool through one of said retainers in a generally axial direction and into engagement with a deformable finger on the other of said retainers, inserting a tool in a generally axial di-- rection through the said other of said retainers into wedging engagement with said first tool, and forcing said tools generally axially inwardly relatively to each other to cause said first tool to bend the deformable finger in engagement therewith into ball embracing position.

2. The method of assembling a ball retainer with one row of balls of a double row bearing which has a retainer for each row of balls, and wherein the ball retainers have deformable ball embracing fingers located in the zone between the two retainers, which method comprises, inserting a backing-up tool through one of said retainers into the space between adjacent deformable fingers thereon, and inserting a wedging tool through the otherof said retainers and into the space between said first tool and one of the deformable fingers adjacent thereto to bend said one of said fingers into ball embracing position while said tools serve to mutually support each other against substantial distortion.

3. The method of assembling'one ball retainer with one row of balls of a double row bearing which has a retainer for each row of balls, and wherein said one ball retainer .has deformable ball embracing fingers located in the zone between the two retainers, which method comprises, providing a substantially rigid support adjacent a finger of said one retainer, inserting a tool through a generally axially extending hole in the retainer opposite said one retainer and forcing the end of said tool between said support and the deformable finger on said one retainer to deform the same into ball embracing position, and repeating the above operation to deform other fingers oi the retainer.

4. The method of assembling one ball retainer with one row'of balls of a double row hearing which has a retainer for each row of balls, and wherein said one ball retainer has a pair of oppositelyjdeformable ball embracing fingers loformable fingers or the pair adjacent thereto to deform said one finger into ball embracing position, and then forcing the tool between said support and the other finger of said last mentioned pair of fingers to deform said other finger into ball embracing position. i

HOWELL L. POTTER. 

